Not Afraid to Knot, Always Here For You
by Miss Tazzy
Summary: Rukia has some exciting feelings and fears about getting married. Who else help sooth her than a friend whose always there for her?


I'm not afraid to knot, Always here for you

Summary: Rukia has some exciting feelings and fears about getting married. Who else help sooth her than a friend whose always there for her?

 _A/N: I haven't wrote a fanfiction in quite a few years. So this is going to be helping me get back into it a bit._

She looked at the ring on her hand and smiled, falling back onto her futon. It still felt like yesterday that he purposed to her, and now they were getting married in less than a week. They were going to be living together, and sharing the same bed, and- her face turned a deep red from what popped up next in her mind and she shot up. The sudden action left her feeling rather dizzy, and she almost passed back out onto the bed again. A sigh escaped her parted lips as she shook her head, trying to calm herself so she could get some rest for the morning. Everyone has been frantically trying to help her with putting the wedding together. The least she could do was go to sleep and be able to wake up bright, alert, and early.

A few minutes passed... and then a few hours... She had only been laying here with her eyes closed. Her mind hadn't thought about sleeping in the slightest. Just what was wrong with her? Was it excitement and anxiety? Stress from all the wedding planning? Did she eat something and get food poisoning!? Her stomach felt so uneasy. Maybe she just needed to calm her nerves... She knew without a shred of doubt this is what she wanted to do- to be married to him. So just what was she worried about?

Maybe a trip to the human world would help calm her nerves... After all, the night air and sky always helped her calm down.

The cold December air was just setting in, each breath becoming frosted in the gentle breeze. Her eyes were locked upon the sky above her, one star, in particular, capturing her attention. Violet eyes continued to follow that one single star until she spotted a familiar hair color.

The long wavy, orange hair only belong to one person. "Orihime!"

The girl had stopped in her tracks as she heard her name being called. Quickly, her head whipped around to the familiar voice and a vibrant smile came across her face, "Rukia!"

She picked up her pace as she headed towards her, only slowing down once she was fully caught up and side-by-side to her long-time friend. She was the first female friend she made when she first came to the human world and held a special place in Rukia's heart.

"How've you been Orihime? It's been so long since we've been able to talk like this." Rukia said with a smile across her face. Orihime's presence had caused her feelings of anxiety to fade into non-existence already.

"Pretty good," Orihime responded, tilting her head slightly and placing her finger near the corner of her mouth as she always did. It was such a strange, but adorable quirk. "I wasn't able to go to college like I intended... but everything still worked out!"

"Ah- well that's good." Rukia nodded, still giving a smile. She felt a bit of sadness for the fact that Orihime wasn't able to go to college. But, it was expensive and she understood why it may not have been possible. None the less, Orihime didn't seem down about it at all. It was one of the things she always had loved about her, how she was always able to remain bright and positive.

"How have you and Renji been? Getting everything in order for the wedding?" Orihime asked, looking at Rukia.

The question seemed to catch Rukia off guard a bit. The idea of getting married to her childhood friend seemed so surreal to her. It was almost like it was a dream come true.

"Y-yeah." Rukia said with a smile her cheeks tingeing a light shade of red, "It's been pretty crazy haha.."

Orihime smiled. She was so happy for Rukia. Then she had an idea, "Hey, Rukia... if you aren't busy, would you like to stay over at my place for a bit?"

"Of course!" the response from Rukia was almost instant.

"Great!" the two then continued to walk until they reached Orihime's apartment. She pulled out the keys and opened the door, revealing the small, quaint apartment she lived in. There was a small living area and kitchen, and down the hall was the bedroom and bathroom. Orihime flicked on the lights, walking into the kitchen where she opened the cupboard. She pulled down two mugs one of which had a small bunny design on it just for Rukia.

"You like marshmallows right?" Orihime asked, pouring them both a cup of hot chocolate. It was the best time of year for it after all.

"Yes! And lots of them." Rukia responded with a smirk as she relaxed, leaning back a bit. It was rare for the two to spend time alone together. It was never awkward and in fact, Rukia rather looked forward to the time they would spend together.

Orihime nodded with a smile, glad that she had remembered how her friend enjoyed hot chocolate. Once she finished, she carefully placed Rukia's cup down in front of her and sat next to her; placing her own cup in front of her as she waited for it to cool a bit.

Instantly, Rukia sat up and impulsively reached for the cup, bringing it up to her lips and taking a sip. Burning her tongue of course in the process. The sudden squeal had escaped her lips as she pulled the cup away, her tongue peeking out from her lips slightly in an attempt to cool it.

A soft giggle was heard from Orihime as she watched her friend burn her tongue. "Be careful, it's hot." she gently reminded her friend.

"Yeah yeah I know." Rukia responded with a soft pout. She wanted to drink it now! But her poor tongue...

Orihime smiled, letting out a content sigh before speaking, "Rukia... I'm really glad you're getting married. I hope everything goes well for you and Renji."

Rukia looked over at Orihime, blinking in confusion from her tone. There was a hint of melancholy in Orihime's tone, something that was clearly out of character for her friend's nature. "Orihime? Is something wrong?"

Her large, brown eyes blinked as they looked over at Rukia, "Of course not!"

"Don't lie to me." Rukia narrowed her eyes slightly, though, not quite a glare as she spoke in a stern tone.

Orihime shifted under Rukia's stern gaze. It didn't take any more than just about five seconds before she finally began to crack.

"I-It's nothing really. I..." she pouted, muttering something under her breath.

"What?" Rukia leaned in closer to hear what Orihime was saying.

"... Am just a bit jealous is all..." Orihime finally admitted.

"What? Why?" Rukia asked.

"Well... You and Renji make such a good couple. And... one day I want to be able to find someone to marry too.." Orihime answered, glancing away from Rukia.

Rukia smiled a bit, it was such an innocent confession. She had known of Orihime's low self-esteem for quite some time now, though, it improved with time. It was with that one comment that she instantly knew Ichigo hadn't confessed to her yet. "Orihime look at me..."

Naturally, Orihime shook her head, giving a childish pout as she closed her eyes.

"Look~." Rukia gave a sly smirk as she leaned in closer, knowing it her friend wouldn't be able to resist for too much longer.

Finally, Orihime opened one of her eyes and looked over at Rukia, that childish pout still on her face.

Rukia then grabbed Orihime's cheeks, turning her head more until their foreheads touched. "Orihime..." she started, letting out a soft exhale of air before she continued.

"You're amazing. You're one of the best friends I could ever ask for. We've been through so much together. You're sweet, kind, and beautiful. You gave me, and the others the strength to keep going through all the hard times. You'll be able to find that person, the one person who adores you and will love, and cherish you. I have no doubts about it... and if they screw up even once, I'll beat them into the ground."

Rukia's words touched her heart and her eyes bubbled with tears. "R-Rukia..."

"Now don't cry. Tears don't suit your face." Rukia responded with a smile as she tenderly wiped away Orihime's tears, even if they were tears of happiness. There was a sense of gentleness and care that Orihime always managed to bring out of her.

Orihime sniffled as she nodded, trying to hold back the remaining tears.

"Good." Rukia said letting out a soft chuckle, releasing Orihime.

At that moment, Orihime remembered something and let out a soft gasp.

Hearing the sound, Rukia looked over at Orihime, "What is it now?"

"T-There's something I wanted to give you. Wait here." Orihime said as she stood to her feet, running towards her bedroom to retrieve something. Sounds of her rummaging through things was heard before she finally returned. In her hand, a veil with single flower sewn into it.

Rukia's eyes widened as Orihime came closer while holding it in her hand, she was in awe from the sheer beauty of it.

Orihime returned to her seat, facing Rukia, "I... was making this for you. I'm sorry I couldn't finish-"

"It's beautiful..." Rukia responded, cutting off Orihime as she spoke. It was beautiful in the state it currently was, even more so because it was handcrafted by her dear friend specifically for her. She didn't care that it wasn't finished.

"Orihime... Thank you so much." a smile slowly spread across her face as she looked at it.

"I'm glad you like it Rukia." Orihime responded, with a smile of her own, gently placing the veil in Rukia's hands. She was going to explain why she didn't have the time to fully finish it- but of course, Rukia didn't care.

"C-Can I try it on?" Rukia asked.

"Of course. Here, I'll help you." Orihime said with a smile, overjoyed that Rukia enjoyed her gift, even if it was unfinished. She gestured for Rukia to turn around before she carefully placed the veil on Rukia. Making sure that the flower was in place as well as the rest of the veil. The white flower stood out wonderfully against Rukia's dark hair and the rest of the transparent veil. She then found a nearby mirror and held it up so Rukia could see how she looked.

Rukia stared into the mirror for a few moments. She almost didn't recognize herself with it on. She smiled, tears forming in her eyes. "It's so beautiful..." she was given a gift that she would always cherish.

"Thank you so much Orihime!" Rukia said, bursting out into tears of joy. "I love it! Thank you! Thank you!"

Mere words couldn't express just how happy Rukia was with her present. She turned to face Orihime, throwing her arms around her in a tight embrace. Naturally, Orihime returned the gesture, embracing Rukia just as tightly. After a while, the two finally pulled away from each other, tears still streaming down Rukia's face.

"Stop crying, tears don't suit your face." Orihime responded, mirroring Rukia's words playfully and tenderly wiping away her tears.

Rukia shook her head and smiled, "I just... am so happy. Thank you again, Orihime. It's beautiful."

The veil was not only a symbol of her marriage to Renji, but more importantly her friendship with Orihime. Who knows how much time and effort Orihime had put into making it in order to get the veil to the state that it was currently in, and intended to put in much more, however, time and circumstance didn't allow for it.

"I'm glad you like it Rukia." Orihime said with a smile. Work had consumed much of her free time, and bills ate away at the money that she had. Her plan was for there to be a chain of flowers on the veil, and to have it decorated with much more elaborate patterns and fabric. She was going to put everything she had into making an acceptable gift for her friend, unfortunately, circumstance didn't allow for it.

The veil was then carefully removed, placed back into the decorated box so that it wouldn't be ruined before the wedding. They had exchanged smiles before going back to back to enjoying the evening together, drinking hot chocolate while chatting about events had been happening in their lives. Rukia shared the tale of how Renji panicked and fumbled over his words as he asked for Byakuya's permission to marry her and Orihime shared her wacky work stories.

Just like that, Rukia found her worries from earlier fading into non-existence. It was like they were never there to begin with after having spent this time with Orihime. Through it all, Orihime would always be at her side, and naturally, she would be always at Orihime's. She found that she had nothing to truly worry about. Perhaps the anxiety came with not having spent this relaxing time with Orihime.

"I'll always be here for you Rukia." Orihime said with a smile.

Rukia simply nodded, "I know."


End file.
